A World of Darkness
by ArcaneWeapon
Summary: Set in the Faerun campaign setting. The story of an Avariel named Saevel Xilokerym and his adventure to save the world of Faerun. No D&D background required to understand.
1. Captured!

**A World of Darkness**

**By: ArcaneWeapon**

**Chapter 1: Captured**

"Saevel it's time to get out of bed!" his mom's voice called out. "How can you be so lazy on your forty-fifth birthday? I thought you were excited to go on your first scouting expedition."

Saevel's scintillating violet eyes, pure as amethyst, shot open as he remembered how special today was. He carefully spread his white wings so as to not crumple them, and pushed himself off of his stomach so he could drape his legs off the bed. He lightly hopped down and stumbled over to the mirror to look at himself. He was 5' 8" weighing 102 pounds with pale porcelain white skin, silver hair, and purple eyes. He wrinkled his nose in disgust at his sleeping robe and walked over to his closet, looking for something special to wear this day. He selected his finest blue robes with gold trim and brought them with him into the bathroom. After taking a quick shower he threw his blue robes on and walked into the kitchen. His mother stepped away from the stove and gave him a big hug as he entered the room.

"I made your favorite breakfast, fresh tuna," she informed him as she served a large helping onto a plate and handed it to him. "Once you're done with that you can go say your morning prayers and study your spellbook before heading to the scout headquarters," she kindly told him.

As he happily dug into his tuna Saevel thought about his life up to this point. He had been born into the Xilokerym family, which meant "Petalsword." His mother was a famed cleric and his father was a fearless defender of their people. Saevel had followed in neither of their footsteps however. Unlike other boys his age, he had never found any pleasure playing with wooden swords. Instead he studied magic. He had always been a very intelligent child and magic seemed to come to him naturally. This had set him apart as an outcast, and he had never had any close friendships. When he had free time he spent most of it studying and practicing magic or flying around the Aerie, the enormous crystal citadel built atop of the Icerim Mountains, and the last stronghold of the Avariel, the winged elves of Faerun.

Thousands of years ago the Avariel had been hunted down to the brink of extinction and they had fled to these mountains in an attempt to hide from the world. Their withdrawal from the world caused them to become a rare sight and slowly they became legendary creatures of myth as time passed. Recently in Saevel's life they had started spreading back out into the world, now that they were not afraid of dying out. The scouting trip he was about to go on was checking the conditions of a human supply caravan that was bringing trade materials to the Aerie.

He finished his fish and brought his plate to the sink before leaving the kitchen and entering the prayer room. He took a moment upon entering to light the three candelabras and some incense before going to his knees in front of the altar. He bowed his head and began his prayers to the elven deities.

"Corellon Lerethian," he began, "Creator of the elves, please guide and protect me on this day. Aerdrie Faenya, mother of the Avariel, you have looked out for my people for thousands of years, please give me your guidance today."

After finishing his prayers to his two main deities he rattled off a few more minor ones, asking for their protection as well. He ended his prayers with one unusual for an Avariel, Mystra, the Goddess of all magic. Not many Avariel practiced magic and Saevel often felt like her only worshiper in the Aerie. After asking Mystra to aid his spells he walked back to his room and sat down at his desk to study his spellbook.

Since he was only a beginner wizard his spellbook didn't have very many spells, it currently only had six full pages. Scanning over the ones he could memorize for the day he decided on Light, Detect Magic, and Daze for his cantrips, the lowest level of spell, and Magic Missile, Shield, and Sleep for his 1st level spells. After spending an hour committing them to memory, Saevel tucked his spellbook into a pouch on his belt next to his spell components and re-entered the kitchen where he snatched up a packed lunch his mother had made for him and shoved it into another pouch. He then stopped by the door to attach his quiver to his belt, sling his bow over one shoulder, and grab his quarterstaff before leaping out the door and falling headfirst towards the ground 100 feet below.

Halfway down he furled his wings and beat them several times, turning to head towards where the scouting party was going to meet. As he leisurely flew he took deep breathes of the cool morning air and gazed out at his surroundings. The sunlight glistened off the snow that was on the high peaks year-round, making it look as if they were capped in silver. Several giant eagles, his favorite animals, were lazily circling some of the peaks, looking for breakfast. He arrived at the meeting just as roll was being called. Saevel was slightly intimidated that everyone else there was much older and more experienced then him but he didn't let his voice shake as he called out, "Here!" when his name was called.

Saevel carefully listened to the instructions that were given before taking flight with the others. Their goal was to find and escort a human caravan carrying supplies back to the Aerie. It wasn't a very important mission, which was why Saevel was allowed to go. He didn't care about its importance, however, he was just excited to be on his first scouting mission. After about an hour of flight, Saevel could make out the caravan below them and pointed it out to the others around him. They were impressed that he had been the first one to see it and many of them gave him looks of approval. Saevel knew that first spot meant an extra reward upon return to the Aerie, but he was too excited to care.

As the Avariel entered into a dive to approach the wagons they noticed them stopping and people emerging. All of a sudden, as they neared the ground, the lead Avariel started desperately pumping its wings, trying to regain altitude as fast as possible. The sudden strain on its wings was too much, however, and they snapped with a sickening sound, causing the Avariel to plummet to the ground. The rest of the scouting party looked on in horror as they realized what the leader had seen. The shapes emerging from the wagons were not human. They were orcs, hundreds upon hundreds of orcs.

The Avariel in the back managed to slow themselves down and fly back up to a safe distance but the ones in front, including Saevel were unable to do so. While he wasn't as far ahead as a few others, his wings were not as strong as the rest of the scouts and he knew there was no way for him to pull back up. Desperately he called a spell to mind and reached one hand out to form the spell while the other grabbed a pinch of sand from his spell component pouch. His fingers reached into the web of magic that covered all of Faerun, a web only mages could manipulate, and pulled several of the threads before sticking his hand with the sand out palm towards the orcs and shouting the finishing word. A small white sphere shot out of his hand and exploded in a 15ft radius, causing six of the orcs in its area of effect to slump to the ground in a deep sleep.

The orcs shouted in alarm as they noticed Saevel casting the spell and a huge barrage of arrows shot up like an angry swarm of bees. In a panic Saevel cast the first spell that came to mind, once again reaching into the web and twisting the threads. This time there was no visible effect when he thrust his hands out.

"_I've never cast this spell before," _he thought, _"I hope it works!"_

The arrows cut into the Avariel in front of him, but they bounced off an invisible disk shielding him from harm.

"Thank you Mystra," Saevel whispered in gratitude, his Shield spell had worked perfectly.

By the time he was able to slow himself down enough to start flying back into the sky safely he was alarmingly close to the ground and the orcs. He was terrified when he saw that many of them held nets and were preparing to throw them. He made a feeble attempt to regain some height but they were already throwing their nets. They tangled in his wings and he felt himself lose control as he started to fall towards the ground. He hit within seconds and passed out from the pain.

**A/N: There goes! First chapter of my DD fic :) I am going to be working on this a lot and I expect it to be the most detailed and exciting thing I've ever written. I hope you enjoyed the story so far, I have so much to write I just can't write it fast enough :) So far I've actually been rolling everything out that would require dice (like the amount of orcs that Saevel put to sleep, rolled 2d4 and got 6) and I think I'll keep doing that throughout the story. Please review if you liked this.**


	2. A New Friend

**Chapter 2: A New Friend**

Saevel woke to the faint taste of copper in his mouth. Running his tongue alongside the top row of his teeth, he came in contact with a sticky dried mess. He opened his eyes to find that he was lying in a pile of straw, which was what his blood had dried on. He could tell from the smell that it wasn't fresh and he shoved himself up to get a fresh breath of air. He felt his wings brush up against something above him as he rose and glanced up. He was horrified to find that he was in a cage on a wagon. He sat down and curled his legs up so he could clutch them to his chest with both arms before his body started quivering in terror. There are few things an Avariel fears more then a cage. He could hear orcs all around him shouting in their brutal language and realized he was a prisoner. Suddenly, some of the straw in the corner started moving and Saevel whipped his head around in fear.

Instead of the orc he expected, Saevel saw a woman's head rise up and look at him in surprise. She had golden blonde hair, emerald green eyes, and lightly bronzed skin. For someone who had been lying in a pile of straw for who-knows-how-long she looked amazing. Saevel's jaw dropped at her beauty and he felt himself blush. She noticed his blushing and averted her eyes, her cheeks deepening as well. As she finished crawling out from under the straw, Saevel saw she was wearing a suit of finely made Elven leather that molded itself to her body like a second skin, making him turn an even deeper shade of red.

"I see you're awake," she said nervously, "I was afraid your injuries were too great for you to survive."

Saevel glanced down and saw that his robes were ripped in several places and he could feel sore parts all over his body. He carefully felt his wings and was overjoyed to find they had suffered no damage.

"How long have I been unconscious?" he asked.

"Two days," she replied softly, turning her head to look at him again.

"And how long have you been here?"

"A week… I was captured while traveling through Damara. There were too many orcs for me to fight," she said angrily.

"Where are you from, and what's your name if you don't mind my asking?" Saevel asked.

She nervously bushed a hand through her hair, and Saevel's keen eyes barely glimpsed a pointy ear hidden beneath it.

"_She's an elf too!"_ he thought excitedly.

"My name is Vestele Amalith, I'm a sun elf from Evermeet," Vestele said shyly, speaking in Elven.

"Evermeet!" Saevel exclaimed in shock, also speaking in Elven now, "The sacred elven isle? Why are you so far from home?"

"I was on my way to the Aerie, bringing a message to your people inviting them to come live with us. We seek for all the elven races to be united once more. I was sent as a messenger because of my… sneaking abilities," Vestele replied.

"Sneaking abilities?"

"I'm a rogue," she said, slightly embarrassed. "Both my parents are wizards along with all my ancestors but I never found magic to be interesting. The daring involved in picking locks and disabling traps excited me since I first head stories of famous rogues. My parents call it thievery, which is why I was so glad to get away from them, I hate that word. I don't steal, I acquire," she finished mischievously.

Saevel raised his eyebrows slightly and let out a slight chuckle before telling Vestele all about himself.

"My parents must think I'm dead," Saevel finished miserably, a tear trickling down the side of his face.

"Don't worry! Together I'm sure we can escape these stupid orcs, you're a wizard right?"

"Yah, I am. Are you serious about escape? Think we really could do it?" Saevel responded energetically.

"Sure we could! You just blast out some fancy spells, take care of these bars, and then fly me away!" Vestele said excitedly.

"I have to memorize my spells from my spellbook every morning, surely you know that with wizards as parents," Saevel said in confusion. "Besides… even if I did have my spellbook I'm afraid I don't have any powerful spells that would help us," he said, ashamed.

"_I wish I could impress you by getting us out of here, Vestele, but I can't"_ he thought dejectedly.

"Oh," she said quietly, "I'm sorry I forgot… Your spellbook is in the wagon ahead of us… looks like were gonna have to go wherever they're taking us."

"Looking back, the wagons weren't actually heading for the Aerie," Saevel said, thinking back to the day he was captured. "They were headed southeast… Where do you think they could they be taking us?"

"I have my suspicions," Vestele said, leaning closer so she could whisper into his ear. "You see the black tattoo of a demons head wreathed in flames on that orcs shoulder?" she asked, pointing subtly at an orc walking alongside their cage.

"Thay!" Saevel gasped in horror, recognizing the sigil on sight.

"Exactly, I see you've heard of them. They are evil wizards who use their powers to control an entire nation with slaves to do their busywork. When we arrive they will put you in a cage and study you until you die. Avariel are rare and they won't let an opportunity to study one slip by. As for me… all I can expect is to be used as a sex slave," she finished in a soft moan of despair.

"No Vestele! Together we will manage to escape somehow!"

Before he could continue, however, the orc walking next to the cage growled and smashed its ax into the cage bars.

"Lnet ep ltepad yszyl! Ri tosk ar mogy! Cy met ijj phyttu vargl aj uie ri lnet ep!" it shouted out in Orc.

"You don't happen to speak Orc do you, Saevel?" Vestele asked hopefully.

"Actually I do, I'm not sure, but I think he said, 'Shut up stupid elves! No talk in cage! Me cut off pretty wings if you no shut up!' Maybe we should stop talking and just enjoy the view…"

The two of them settled down on the opposite side of the cage from their guard and stared out in the direction they were heading, each trying to figure out where they were. An owl flew overhead, its wings gently beating the air. Saevel smiled sadly and wished that he were free to spread his wings like the owl. The cool night air's fresh smell was ruined by the scent of the torches the orcs lit to allow them to travel through the night. They kept occasionally glancing at each other nervously and blushing when they saw the other person looking. At one point, Saevel stretched out his wings as much as the cage would allow and accidentally brushed them against Vestele's shoulder. She jumped slightly at the soft touch and let out a small squeak, scooting back a little in surprise. Saevel blushed and quickly withdrew his wings, folding them behind him again.

As night fell the two elves scooted closer and started whispering in Elven again.

"Did you see the woods on the horizon ahead?" Saevel asked.

"No… I didn't…" Vestele said in surprise. "You must have really strong eye sight!"

Saevel smiled at the complement before continuing. "Since we've been heading southeast for three days now I think that forest might be the Forest of Lethyr. Supposedly there is a large druidic conclave that lives in that forest. Perhaps if we are lucky they will ambush the orcs and free us!" he said happily.

Vestele smiled at his cheerfulness and gently patted his shoulder before walking over to the middle of the cage and settling down to sleep. Saevel decided that he too wanted to stay away from the edges while asleep, so he quietly lay down next to her, being careful not to brush into her again. He could tell that she was already asleep by her slow breaths, and he allowed himself to gaze upon her face.

"_So beautiful…"_ he thought.

He noticed she was shivering slightly from the cold night air and gently draped one of his wings over her before falling asleep as well.

**A/N: I love where this fic is heading :) I got the Orc language from doing a double encryption of Al Bhed, a language from Final Fantasy games. So it's sorta mine and sorta not :) I hope your enjoying the story, please respond if you are so I can know!**


	3. The Forest

**Chapter 3: The Forest**

Saevel woke from his slumber the instant he felt Vestele stirring under his wing. He pulled it away so she wouldn't know and quietly got to his feet. The only sounds he could her were the occasional grunts and murmurs of the orcs, which we're quickly quieted. A feeling of doom permeated the air and it was obvious the orcs were afraid of something. It was almost pitch black, the only sources of light were the hundreds of torches carried by the orcs. Saevel's keen eyes picked out the indistinct shapes of tree trunks surrounding them and realized that they must have entered the forest of Lethyr. He gazed up to see if he could see the sun, but no traces of it managed to find their way through the thick curtain of branches that concealed the caravan from the open sky. Not being able to see the sky as well as being in a cage only served to further crush Saevel's spirit. He was surprised when a delicate hand brushed a tear off his cheek, and he turned to smile at Vestele.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, "I didn't hear you get up."

"Under the conditions I slept like an angel, if you didn't hear me then it means I haven't lost my touch," she said with a smile. "Where are we and why is it so dark? I can't even see the stars…"

"We're in the forest of Lethyr, I was correct in my guess last night. The branches of the trees around us form such a tight canopy above us that it is impossible for any form of light to enter." Saevel replied.

"I'm… afraid of the dark…" Vestele whispered.

Saevel glanced around checking where the nearest orcs were before furtively reaching into his robes and grabbing a piece of phosphorescent moss from a secret pocket. He then knelt down, whispered a few words, and touched a piece of straw, causing it to flare with light. He quickly covered it with the hem of his robes before gesturing to Vestele to sit. Once they were crouched in front of each other with their knees touching Saevel made a small hollow and stuck the brightly glowing piece of straw in before slightly covering it up.

"I thought you couldn't use magic without your spellbook," Vestele remarked in confusion.

"I spent a lot of time learning to cast Light without needing to memorize it since its such a useful spell," Saevel responded. "It's the only useful spell I can do that with though."

"Thank you for caring, even this small amount of light brings me cheer and lifts the weight of the darkness off my back," Vestele said with a smile.

"I'm glad I could be helpful, to pass the time will you tell me about your home, Evermeet? I've always wanted to learn more of the fabled island of Elves."

"It's a beautiful island over eighteen hundred miles to the west of Faerun, across the Trackless Sea which no human would ever be able to sail. The entire north section of the island is a grove dedicated to the father of all Elves, Corellon Larethian. The capital city, Leuthilspar, is located on the shore of the island near the center and is the most beautiful city I have seen in my life. All the buildings are grown; none of them have been built. Crystals as tall as mighty trees are riddled with spiral passageways and glass-floored living quarters. Trees grow into citadels, linked by their branches. Soaring arches and shimmering fields of magical force support airy palaces that seem too fragile to exist even in a dream. Eternally vigilant warriors and mages in armor of gleaming glass guard the city from potential invaders. Although if those defenders actually had to fight something it would be a serious matter, Evermeet's true defense is the island fifty miles to the east, Sumbrar. The island is a series of interwoven magical fortresses each with thousands of wizard-warriors. Deep below the island, the last twelve dragons of Evermeet lie sleeping alongside their riders, waiting for a threat worthy of their tremendous power. Uninvited ships that actually manage to make it this far are sternly warned off or completely destroyed if they fail to comply. Despite all this protection we are still not completely safe from those who wish us harm. Forty-three years ago Queen Amlaruil's husband King Zaor was murdered in the heart of his palace, surrounded by all the strength and splendor of his realm. Drow, using magical portals were able to sneak into his throne room and kill him before any of his guards realized what was happening."

Saevel was so enraptured in Vestele's story he barely heard the cries of panic coming from what he assumed must be the orcs sentries.

"Did you hear that!" he shouted as he leaped to his feet and started looking for what was making the orcs scream.

Vestele got to her feet as well, and together they watched as the forest around them went crazy. Bears, wolves, and even tigers were pouring out of the darkness and slaughtering any orcs they encountered.

"That tree is moving!" Vestele shouted over the screams of dying orcs, pointing at an enormous tree that was crushing orcs with its branches.

"A treant…" Saevel whispered in surprise.

"Gyt tny vogirl ord tny phaliryhl iet ij tnal mehlyd jihylt ord tny hylt ij uie lmecbogl ltoht kassarg tny oracosl! Lyt jahy ti tny thyyl aj uie nozy ti!" the largest orc screamed.

"He's shouting to get the prisoners and the wagons out of the forest and for them to kill the animals and set fire to the trees," Saevel explained to Vestele, translating what the orc had said.

The orcs rallied to their leaders cry and started setting the forest on fire while brutally attacking the animals. When the first one was finally cut down, everyone was shocked as it blurred and suddenly was a human instead of a wolf.

"Druids!" Vestele exclaimed in shock. "They're trying to free us!"

"Um… I don't think so…" Saevel remarked as a huge pillar of flame engulfed one of the wagons. "That was one of the druids casting Flame Strike, I think they just want to kill all the trespassers."

The battle raged on and slowly passed behind them as the orcs drove the oxen away from the battle and further to the south. As the sound and smell of the battle faded away Vestele collapsed to the floor of the cage and started crying.

"I was so sure we were going to escape," she sobbed. "And all those poor people and trees were killed by these stupid orcs! Why are there so many races devoted to killing and torture!" she sobbed.

Not knowing what to do Saevel went down on his knees and wrapped his arms around Vestele, trying to comfort her. They sat like that for a while until a brilliant beam of sunlight suddenly shattered the darkness. The two of them looked out the bars of their cage and saw that they had left the forest and were now in a wide-open grassland. The sun was nearing the horizon, making the fields of grass look as if they were on fire. The orcs hurriedly set up camp before forming a steel wall around the wagons and preparing for anything to charge out of the forest.

After two hours nothing had emerged, neither orcs nor druids, and Saevel figured they all must have perished. He too wished the druids had been there to rescue them, but the spells directed at the wagons told him it was just an attempt to destroy intruders. The two caged elves went to sleep next to each other for the second night, each wondering how much longer until they managed to get out, and what would happen once they did.

**A/N: Oops… I went a little crazy on the description of Evermeet. I hope your enjoying the fic so far, I'm planning on introducing a new char in the next chapter and Saevel and Vestele should manage to escape by then.**


	4. The Cleric

**Chapter 4: The Cleric**

Saevel and Vestele each woke to a hard poke in the side from a spear butt and they heard an orc snarl, "Jiid ord votyh jih tny ltepad yszyl!" as bowls of foul water and rotting meat were thrust through the bars.

Saevel and Vestele just looked at the bowls in disgust before sitting down in the straw and gazing out towards the plains in silence. Judging from where the sun was Saevel figured it was around mid-day. As he was starting to zone out Saevel heard soft words of magic being spoken to his left and glanced over, trying not to be obvious. He saw a female human, 5' 3" with black hair, hazel eyes, and tawny skin muttering something under her breath. She was focusing intently on the bowls of food strangely enough, and to Saevel's surprise the water and meat suddenly look as good as new.

"Vestele!" he whispered as he shook her arm gently. "Look at the food and tell me what you see!"

"I already know what I'll see Saevel," she replied in annoyance. "The water is foul and the meat…" she didn't finish her sentence as she gasped in surprise. "It's clean!"

"Then I'm not just seeing things… We have our friend over there to thank," he said, pointing at the human.

The human waved shyly before taking a drink of her own water, showing it was indeed safe to drink.

"I don't know Saevel… why should we trust her?" Vestele asked suspiciously.

"Aw common Vestele, she's just trying to be helpful. Besides, I'm so thirsty I could drink that Trackless Sea you mentioned yesterday!"

Vestele rolled her eyes before taking a careful sip from the bowl of water. To her surprise it actually tasted incredibly fresh. She gratefully gulped the rest down before reaching for the meat. Saevel was already devouring his meat and greatly enjoying it after two days without food. They both smiled at each other happily when they finished eating.

"Thank you for casting that spell friend," Saevel called out to the human. "Would you be willing to give us your name?"

"I'm Natali Chernin," she responded. "I'm a cleric from Damara, the orcs captured me when they passed though there. I'll try to cast Purify Food and Drink whenever they feed us, as long as they don't notice everything should be fine."

"Thank you for helping us, "Vestele said. "I sorry I was suspicious of you."

"Don't worry about it, I was a stranger and you didn't know me so there was no reason to trust me. I hope we can be friends now?" she asked nervously.

"Of course you are! As a cleric you can cast spells without memorizing them from a book, do you have anything that might help us escape?" Saevel asked.

"There are a few spells that come to mind but nothing that would help with this many orcs…"

Hearing all the talking, one of the orcs walked up and brutally smashed his spear butt into Saevel's stomach, knocking him down. As he fell, Saevel tried desperately not to fall on his wings but was unable to and screamed in agony when he landed on them. Vestele gasped in horror and fell to her knees, trying to see how hurt Saevel was.

"Tnot tyomn ltepad yszyl ti lnetep!" the orc snarled before walking away.

"Dear Torm… I didn't mean for him to be hurt!" Natali cried in shock as she put her hand over her mouth.

"You're a cleric! Do something!" Vestele screamed.

"I can't! I need to be able to touch him to cure him!"

Vestele pressed her face into Saevel's chest and started crying, worried that he might never wake.

This time a larger orc came over to inspect the noise and started shouting when he saw Saevel.

"Ltepad socy-bhoarl! Vargyd ysj al ij ri ely ti coltyhl dyod! Gyt msyham ar mogy ti nyos nac riv!"

Responding to their commanders call several other orcs ran to the cage Natali was in and un-locked it. They forcefully dragged her out and brought her to the door of the cage Saevel was in. After shoving her in they locked the door and went back to marching alongside the wagons.

Natali rushed to Saevel's side and dropped to her knees, placing her hand gently on his head. She started murmuring a prayer under her breath and a warm glow emerged from her fingers and sank into Saevel.

"Now we just have to wait…" she sighed as she sat down next to Saevel.

"How long do you think it will be?" Vestele asked in concern, sitting opposite Natali.

"Hopefully his wounds weren't very serious, I expect he will be awake some time in the next few hours."

"Hours! Can't you do more then that!"

"If it wasn't for me he'd be dead, remember that. I've done all I can, now we just have to be patient and wait."

"I've never been very patient…" Vestele muttered sourly.

"I thought patience was a virtue all elves were born with."

"Well I sure as hell wasn't"

"My, aren't we the grumpy one today? I thought elves were supposed to be cheerful too…"

Instead of responding Vestele shot Natali a glare filled with daggers and ignored her.

The two women sat there in an increasingly awkward silence until Saevel stirred one hour later.

"Saevel!" they exclaimed at the same time, each reaching out to put a hand on the shoulder they were sitting next to.

He opened his eyes and looked at Natali in confusion. "How did you get in here? I could have sworn you were in a different cage…"

"Apparently the orcs want you alive for some reason Saevel. When the commander saw you down he demanded that Natali heal you. When they let her in the cage I caught a glimpse of how the lock works and I think I might be able to pick it," Vestele said.

"With what? Straw?" Natali asked sarcastically.

"Exactly," Vestele replied with a smug look on her face.

Saevel glanced at the two of them in surprise. "What's with all the hostility? I thought we were friends…"

Vestele and Natali both rolled their eyes and unknowingly shared the same thought _"Boys… so clueless…"_

Ignoring the looks he saw on both girl's faces Saevel sat up and started inspecting his wings. He was incredibly relieved to find them completely healed and un-damaged.

"Thank you for healing me Natali," he said kindly before turning to look at Vestele. "You really think you can pick the lock? Why don't we make an escape attempt tonight then?"

"Sounds like a great idea!" she responded eagerly. "We'll need to break into the main wagon to get all our equipment as well."

"It's starting to get dark," Natali commented. "The wagons should be stopping soon. We should stop talking so we don't make the orcs suspicious."

Saevel nodded and the three of them separated, each going to their own corner, deep in their thoughts. Saevel was thinking about what they would do after they managed to escape, Vestele about how she was going to pick the lock, and Natali was praying to Torm, her god.

After a while the wagons stopped for the night and the orcs began setting up camp. Deciding it was time to start making their plans of escape the three captives huddled up in the center of the wagon.

"Apparently they don't trust the three of us together," Vestele whispered as she pointed at an orc approaching.

The orc stopped in front of the door, snarled at them, and fixed a stern gaze on them, not even blinking once.

"So much for escape…" Natali muttered angrily.

"Maybe tomorrow night," Saevel responded. "Lets all get plenty of sleep tonight in preparation."

The three of them cuddled up in the center of the wagon and piled hay on top of themselves to keep warm, winter was coming and the nights were becoming increasingly colder.

The next night, however, there was another guard and every night after that another. After a week had passed guards were still being posted every night and they were rapidly drawing closer to Thay. As they neared their destination Saevel, Vestele, and Natali all got more and more depressed as they realized they weren't going to escape.

On the day before they expected to arrive, however, something happened that made the prisoners shout for joy and the orcs scream in anger.

**A/N: Heh, how's that for a cliffhanger? Sorry it took so long for this chappie to come out, I've been working on it a lot. Hopefully what the orcs are saying is obvious from the context, with Saevel unconscious neither of the girls can tell what they were saying either so I thought it worked out well. I hope your enjoying the story, more chapters will be coming soon!**


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